We live, simultaneously, in two different worlds. Ultimately, we live in the World of Nature, a world that we did not create and the world upon which all life depends. Most immediately, we inhabit a "human world" that we create ourselves. Because our human world is the result of our own choices and actions, we can say, quite properly, that we live, most immediately, in a “political world.” In this blog, I hope to explore the interaction of these two worlds that we call home.

About Me

Gary A. Patton

I was an elected official in Santa Cruz County, California for twenty years, from 1975 to 1995. Now, I am an environmental attorney, practicing law in Santa Cruz County. If you would like to contact me, send me an email at gapatton@mac.com.

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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

#355 / Do It Yourself

He (or Vanity Fair) called his article "The Book of Jobs." I don't think he mentioned "Do It Yourself." That's my gloss on his analysis, which is, by the way, quite compelling. I recommend the article.

Probably, I should have called this posting "Do It Ourselves," not "Do It Yourself," since what Stiglitz recommends is a collective, not an individual, approach to economic recovery. That is what I want to argue for, too.

If we want to "get this country moving again," then "we," collectively, need to mobilize "our" resources and direct them to the good investments which Stiglitz argues are the way we can pull ourselves out of our current economic depression. In other words, we need to spend money on things that will actually increase our economic productivity in the future, and there are more than enough of such DIY projects to get everyone back to work:

Rebuilding failing infrastructure, from water lines to roads and bridges

Preschool education and after school care for everyone

Affordable housing

Health insurance for all on a "self-insured" basis

Tree planting and environmental restoration projects everywhere

Reduced educational costs for higher education ...

This is very much a partial list. While we can borrow some of the money (which is alright by me, for a good investment), we can also do a lot of this "pay as you go." That means taxing those who have the money now to provide an investment in the future for everyone. That's not "communism," the way I see it. It's "Do It Ourselves."

I am tired of waiting for the bankers and the other apologists for the 1% to do it for us!